A British supermarket will use lasers to print size information on some of its avocados instead of stickers as part of a trial to protect the environment.
High-powered lasers remove a tiny portion of the top layer of peel from the extra-large avocados sold at Tesco.
Westfalia Fruit, Tesco’s avocado supplier, said avocados were perfect for the laser test because of the thickness of the light green fruit’s outer skin.
They etch size information into the avocados following instructions from a computer program. The process takes a third of a second.
After the avocados are atomized, what remains is essentially a tattoo on the peel, showing customers and cashiers information such as the size or variety of the fruit.
Westfalia Fruit stated that extensive tests had been carried out to ensure that the quality, shelf life and taste of the popular salad would not be affected by the laser engravings.
Tesco sells almost 70 million avocados every year and saw a 15% increase in demand for the fruit last year.
It was said that they would start with laser engraving on the extra-large avocados because they made the greatest visual impact.
The chain is also testing replacing the plastic tray packaging for two of its most popular avocado varieties with an easier-to-recycle cardboard container.
The trials will take place in around 270 Tesco stores in the south-east of England and – if customer feedback is positive – will be expanded across the entire Tesco area.
Tesco is working on the trial with Westfalia Fruit, the UK’s largest avocado supplier based in Spalding, Lincolnshire.
The company said that if the changes were implemented in all Tesco stores, over 20 million pieces of plastic packaging could be saved on the avocado twin pack alone, rising to up to 25 million pieces across the entire pre-packed range.
Tesco said it would also save almost a million plastic stickers on its loose extra-large avocados based on current sales information from its supplier.
Lisa Gilbey, avocado buyer at Tesco, said: “We are always looking for innovative ways to reduce the environmental impact of our products and reduce plastic waste in the home by changing our packaging.
“We are very pleased with the customer feedback on our new laser-engraved avocados. This eliminates the need for a barcode sticker, which can easily be forgotten and left stuck on when recycling via household food waste.”
Graham Isaac, Managing Director of Westfalia Fruit, said: “(We) are constantly looking for ways to improve our environmental performance and operate responsibly by focusing on priorities such as reducing – and, where possible, eliminating – plastic from our packaging to help solve the plastic waste problem.”
“We are convinced that with a clear focus and joint efforts as an industry, we will succeed in significantly reducing our waste, using natural resources responsibly and protecting the environment and biodiversity for the future of all of us.”
The laser-engraved avocados have been delivered in bulk to Tesco stores over the past few weeks and will be available in all stores participating in the test from this weekend.
